Baggage Check

ME
	Today we are starting a series called “Crazy Love Too”. Last year we looked at love and how Crazy God’s love for us is. In this series we want to focus on how I was called into the ministry about a year and a half ago I was a computer programmer Introverted I didn’t like a lot of people How can I be a pastor and not like people? I had to be a relational guru. Everyone’s friend.
WE
	You may feel the same way. You are too tired to invest in building relationships Maybe you aren’t really sure how to have a radical relationship Have you ever thought about the types of relationships that you have with your family, friends and co-workers and found yourself wanting more?
GOD
	Well, Jesus dealt with radical relationships all of the time. There is a great example of how Jesus created a radical relationship with a woman he met in John Chapter 4. Jesus was on his way from Judea through Galilee. He could have used three routes to go to Galilee. He had a divine appointment though in Samaria. In the city of suchar. The disciples and Jesus arrived about noon and He sent them off to get some lunch while he waited at the well. A woman came to draw water from the well and there was an exchange between her and Jesus. In this exchange we gain a tremendous amount of insight into how we have a lot of baggage in our relationships and how Jesus can fix them. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans. )
YOU	Check Avoidance
	Do you find yourself doing the same thing. Automatically trying to put up a wall? This woman was most likely drawing water at noon to avoid the other women. She had a past, She had been married 5 times and was now living with another man and not married. So she had a lot of baggage from her past and her defense was to avoid others. Jesus still persisted…
	10 Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water." 11 "Sir," the woman said, "you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his flocks and herds?"
	Check Stereotypes
	The woman thought that she had this guy talking to her all figured out. She had already lived with at least 6 different men and knows what to expect. She didn’t want to give him the chance that He might be different In this bag here I have a couple of items that when you see them, you have an impression of who that person is… She was expecting an encounter with another Jewish man, Jewish men didn’t have a great track record with her. But Jesus persisted…
	13 Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." 15 The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water so that I won't get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."
	Check Selfishness
	Okay, if Jesus has something to give us, give it to us. Let me have it so that I can move on. We can’t do that, Radical Relationships require give and take. They take an investment of time. Jesus doesn’t just give the water to her, He wants her to deal with a deeper issue…
	16 He told her, "Go, call your husband and come back." 17 "I have no husband," she replied. Jesus said to her, "You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true."
	Check Falsehood
	I know how she feels now. She doesn’t want to be real with Jesus. She had hoped that this conversation could have ended before the truth came out. Jesus wouldn’t let it go. He had to keep going. So now she tries to turn this conversation around…
	19 "Sir," the woman said, "I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem."
	You see, she doesn’t want to really deal with this. This is scary territory for her. Jesus wants to deal with the baggage of her past. The baggage that has caused so much grief in her relationships before. But it is only by going deep that Jesus is able to help her to experience a radical relationship with a savior that she can worship regardless of location. So how can we have a radical relationship. Check your baggage and leave it behind. Check AvoidanceCheck StereotypesCheck SelfishnessCheck Falsehood
WE
	Can you imagine the relationships with your family, friends and co-workers if you check this baggage? I can, I saw this past couple of weeks how radical relationships have an impact. Ron and Tammy Riner had their Heartgroup with them the morning. They had taken the time to invest in the lives of other people and their Heartgroup was there to share their grief. The Young’s Heartgroup was there for them when they lost Nancy’s mother. My Heartgroup was there for me when I was being called into the ministry. These were real and radical relationships. The most radical relationship though is my relationship with Jesus. Every day I experience a little bit more of who He is.